It is rare that Toulouse do not live up to the prematch theatrics but it is not every day that a paratrooper attempting to land on the pitch gets snagged on the stadium roof and suspended in mid-air for half an hour. As it was, the paratrooper in question was rescued by the fire brigade before Toulouse dug in to beat a dogged Sale side, finishing with a flourish to send their supporters home happy.
Toulouse added some gloss to the scoreline thanks to late tries from the irrepressible Ange Capuozzo and Guillaume Cramont but they will know they were in a game for an hour. Sale scrapped their way to a five-point lead at half-time and avoided the kind of capitulation seen by Saracens and Harlequins this weekend. For the Toulouse faithful, meanwhile, this match will largely be remembered for what happened in the build-up.
The incident happened shortly before kick-off. Two paratroopers had already successfully landed on the pitch when a third, Captain Yannick Trouille, approaching from the northeast corner of the stadium, was caught on the edge of the roof. It soon became clear that he was stuck, dangling 30 metres above the ground for about half an hour.
Supporters were evacuated from the area underneath before stewards began setting up a makeshift crash mat out of tackle bags. The Toulouse mascot, dressed as a lion, lent a hand, carrying post protectors for further ballast and a bouncy castle, complete with blow-up rugby posts, was hoisted on to the empty seats to further act as a landing spot. La Marseillaise sporadically rang out.
The belated arrival of a fire engine prompted huge cheers and two firemen eventually made their way to the stricken paratrooper via the cherry picker. Trouille was lifted to safety and, after another delay to detach his parachute from the roof, he was brought down to earth. He was said to be unharmed, barring an entirely understandable bit of shock, and he was met by the chairman of European Professional Club Rugby, Dom McKay. The organisers have also offered him tickets for a quarter-final match. The match kicked off 39 minutes later than planned. – Guardian
